Yama Dwitiya 2026
Bhai Dooj 2026: tilak muhurat
Answered for your city, worked out from where the Sun and Moon actually are.
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In Delhi, Bhai Dooj is
Wednesday, 11 November
- Tilak muhurat
- 1:09 PM – 3:19 PM2 hours 10 minutes
- Dwitiya tithi
- 2:01 PM, Tue 10 Nov to 3:54 PM, Wed 11 Nov
How the time is worked out
- The tilak is put on in the afternoon (aparahna), the fourth fifth of the hours from sunrise to sunset. In Delhi on Wednesday, 11 November that is 1:09 PM to 3:19 PM.
- A tithi begins and ends at the same instant everywhere; the afternoon is local. Bhai Dooj is the day Dwitiya is in force in the afternoon, and when that happens on two days, the second.
- That is why the UK, US and Canada keep Bhai Dooj a day before India: there, Dwitiya is over before the afternoon of Wednesday, 11 November.
Sunrise in Delhi 6:40 AM, sunset 5:29 PM.
Questions
When is Bhai Dooj 2026?
In India, on Wednesday, 11 November. Dwitiya runs from 2:01 PM, Tuesday, 10 November to 3:54 PM. In the UK, US and Canada it is Tuesday, 10 November.
What is the Bhai Dooj tilak muhurat for 2026?
In Delhi, 1:09 PM–3:19 PM (2 hours 10 minutes), the afternoon (aparahna) while Dwitiya lasts. Mumbai 1:30 PM–3:45 PM, Kolkata 12:27 PM–2:40 PM, Bengaluru 1:12 PM–3:31 PM, Lucknow 12:55 PM–3:06 PM, Patna 12:39 PM–2:50 PM, Jaipur 1:16 PM–3:27 PM.
Why is Bhai Dooj not on Tuesday, 10 November?
The tilak belongs to the afternoon (aparahna, the fourth fifth of the hours of daylight) of Dwitiya. Dwitiya begins at 2:01 PM and reaches only the end of that afternoon; it covers the whole afternoon of Wednesday, 11 November, so that is the day kept.
What is Yama Dwitiya?
Bhai Dooj is also called Yama Dwitiya. The story is that on this day Yama, the god of death, visited his sister Yamuna, who put a tilak on his forehead and fed him; he blessed every brother who visits his sister on this day with freedom from untimely death.
How is the Bhai Dooj tilak done?
The sister puts a tilak of roli and akshat on her brother's forehead, does his aarti, feeds him a sweet and prays for his long life; he gives her a gift. In many families the brother eats at his sister's home that day.
How this is worked out: the positions of the Sun and Moon (astronomy-engine), one tithi for every 12° the Moon gains on the Sun; the tilak muhurat is your city's afternoon while Dwitiya lasts. Local traditions can differ.